Matthäus HetzenauerMilitary Person

Matthäus Hetzenauer (December 23, 1924 in Tyrol, Austria - October 3, 2004) was a Austrian sniper in the 3rd Mountain Division on the Eastern Front of the World War II, who was credited with 345 kills. His longest confirmed kill was reported at 1100 metres. Hetzenauer was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Hetzenauer trained as a sniper from March 27 through July 16, 1944, before being assigned to the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division, issued both a Karabiner 98k sniper variant with 6x telescopic sight and a Gewehr 43 with ZF4 4x telescopic sight.
On November 6, 1944, he suffered head trauma from artillery fire, and was awarded the Verwundeten-Abzeichen three days later.
On multiple occasions he served with fellow sniper Josef Allerberger. The two of them killed many Soviet soldiers.
Gefreiter Hetzenauer received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 April 1945.

Personal details

Military service

Force

Unit

Rank

From

To

German Army

German Army

Military conflicts participated

Eastern Front

Started

June 22nd, 1941

Ended

May 9th, 1945

Wikipedia article

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland and other allies, which encompassed Northern, Southern and Central and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. It has been known as the Great Patriotic War in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia, while in Germany it was called the Eastern Front, the Eastern Campaign or the Russian Campaign. The battles on the Eastern Front constituted the largest military confrontation in history. They were characterized by unprecedented ferocity, wholesale destruction, mass deportations, and immense loss of life variously due to combat, starvation, exposure, disease, and massacres. The Eastern Front, as the site of nearly all extermination camps, death marches, ghettos, and the majority of pogroms, was central to the Holocaust. Of the estimated 70 million deaths attributed to World War II, over 30 million, many of them civilian, occurred on the Eastern Front. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome of World War II, eventually serving as the main reason for Germany's defeat.

World War II

Started

September 1st, 1939

Ended

September 2nd, 1945

Wikipedia article

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, though related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people, from more than 30 different countries. In a state of "total war", the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres, it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history.